Private students application forms

Private students plea, Board directed to receive application forms
Rawalpindi, Dec 23: The Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi bench, here on Tuesday
directed the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) to receive the
application forms by private students who wanted to appear in the science
subjects in the annual examination of secondary school certificate (SSC).

Justice Asad Munir in his interim order in the petition of All Pakistan
Private Schools Management Association Rawalpindi chapter said all private
students should be allowed to submit their forms till the final outcome of the
petition.

Making secretary education Punjab and chairman, secretary and
controller examination of the board as respondents, association divisional
president Abrar Ahmed through his lawyer Malik Asif Toufiq challenged the
notification issued on November 11 by the BISE secretary that had barred the
private candidates from appearing in practical examination of science subjects.

The petitioner said the association had about 66,000 private schools as
its members in Punjab where about 600,000 students were getting education and it
would be discrimination on the part of the board if they were not allowed to sit
in the examination.

The petition also questioned the policy of the
education department what it called suppressing the science education.
They said the ban on private candidates was deferred every year in the
past but this year it was not done, forcing the students to approach the court.

It may be motioned here that in an identical petition on December 17,
the court had granted relief to 20 petitioner students and the BISE Rawalpindi
was receiving their application forms.

Rs100m grant for Cadet College Hassanabdal
Taxila: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Shairf on Tuesday announced a
grant of Rs100 million for carrying out maintenance and development projects in
the Cadet College Hassanabdal.

He announced the grant while speaking at
56th 'Parents Day' function at the college. The chief minister said annual grant
of the college would be also be increased from Rs20 million to Rs40 million.

He awarded 12 medals and 104 certificates to the cadets. Cadet Tanzilur
Rehman was declared as cadet of the year. Best sportsman of the year medal was
awarded to Cadet Ali Abbass.

On the occasion, the cadets performed
various athletics, PT shows, gymnastics, horse riding and participated in tent
pegging competition and drew applause from the audience.

The chief
minister said the provincial government in one-and-half-year inducted as many as
37,000 teachers in the educational institutions on merit, besides establishing
4,200 IT labs in all schools of Punjab at a cost of Rs4 billion in 10 months.

Now, students from Attock to Rahim Yar Khan have been connected to
internet and they can download their favorite books and read international
newspapers on the net, he maintained.

He said the government had set up
Punjab Education Endowment Fund with an allocation of Rs4 billion for giving
stipends to deserving students, adding that out of this fund five per cent quota
had been reserved for the deserving students of other three provinces.

He said Danish schools were being established in the rural areas to
provide better educational facilities to the talented youth of these areas.
According to him, for the first time in the history of Punjab students were
being given cash prizes and sent abroad for higher education.

The chief
minister said toppers in the boards were sent to England for the study tour and
they would also be sent to Germany and other countries for study in future, so
they could become well-trained human resource for the country.

In his
welcome address, college Principal Prof Arif Malik highlighted achievements of
the college.

Earlier, the chief minister said a "specific lobby" was
speaking against the verdict of Supreme Court on NRO. He said the same lobby had
also questioned the verdict of the apex court to fix sugar prices at Rs40 per
kg.

He said the dictators in the past had taken the country on the verge
of destruction while every body, including politicians, generals and
bureaucracy, had ignored peoples' rights. He said Pakistan was lagging behind in
education sector compared to other countries of South Asia, adding that it was
not the country that Allama Iqbal and Quaid-i-Azam dreamt of. Dawn

Special children institutions grant
Rawalpindi: Hassan Academy for Special Children Principal, Dr. Ahmad Hassan on
Tuesday appealed to the government to patronise educational institutions for
physically and hearing impaired children being run by private sector and
allocate special grants for them.

Talking to teachers and parents and
monthly meeting of Hassan Academy of Special Children held here, he said the
financial assistance from the government would help these institutions to
educate the special children in a better way.

He said that physically and
hearing impaired children at his institution are being imparted
education in a friendly environment.

Dr. Ahmed Hassan said as many as 200
special children are getting education along with normal children at his
academy. He said his academy is demonstrating best performance in very limited
sources.

He said that his academy needs an audiometer and a vehicle for
transportation and asked the philanthropists to come forward and help in this
noble cause.

New schools project
Islamabad: Saudi Public Assistance for Pakistan Earthquake Victims
(SPAPEV) Regional Director Dr Khalid M Al-Othmani has said that work on 8,000
houses, 28 girls and boys schools and seven basic health units (BHUs)
being built by (SPAPEV) is near completion.

Addressing a press
conference here Tuesday, Dr Khalid said that Saudi Arabia came to help Pakistan
soon after October 8 2005 earthquake, which destroyed hospitals, schools,
houses, government and private buildings in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and the NWFP
and took part in relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in the
calamity-hit areas.

He said that project of building 28 schools including five
government secondary and high schools is in process of completion in Rawalakot,
Muzaffarabad, and Bagh areas. He said that 23 schools after construction had
been given to the authorities of Read Foundation for starting the academic
activities in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir besides provision of all essential
items including sets of uniform, bags, books, and other material to the
students.

Yang Linhai handed over these books to acclaimed fiction writer
and Director General Department of Libraries Mazharul Islam, who appreciated the
Chinese dignitary's gesture and said the books would prove a valuable addition
to the library's collection of books.

"From these books, our library
users will be able to learn more about the culture, art and other subjects of
Pakistan's great friend.

These books will also help our scholars in
their research work and studies about China," he said.

Mazharul Islam
expressed his gratitude to the cultural counsellor and said the gift would
further enhance the existing friendly relations between the two
nations.

Chinese counsellor on the occasion visited various sections of
the library and showed keen interest in books displayed there.

Storyboard contest result
Rawalpindi: Students of Communication Sciences Department at Fatima Jinnah
Women University (FJWU) brought honour for the university by winning the first
prize in 'Storyboard Competition' recently.

The competition was
organised at Al-Hamra Arts Council, Lahore, on the topic 'International Day of
Violence against Women' and was conducted by Women Protection Project, Punjab in
collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare, Women Development,
Bait-ul-Maal Punjab and the German Technical Cooperation.

Mrs Moneeza
Hashmi, Ms Arfa Syeda, Mrs Saleema Hashmi, and Adeel Hashmi were amongst the
jury members while top universities from all over the country participated in
the event.

Students of Masters of Communication Sciences IV - Maryam Ali
Chaudhry, Fatima Naseer and Madiha Nazir - got first position in the category of
Storyboard Competition and got a cash prize of Rs20,000.

Another group
from the same class comprising Ayesha Dilshad, Maleeha Masood and Faiza Hussain
got the trophy as a reward for special recognition, as their idea was well
appreciated by the judges.

Another student of FJWU, Shamsa Arooj, got
the honour of getting her work displayed on the occasion. The news

Lecture on food crisis
Islamabad: A lecture was organised here on Tuesday under the auspices of
International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) on 'Food Crisis and Future of
Agriculture in Pakistan'.

The speaker noted that the
food crisis was a global phenomenon and not confined to any region or country.
However, it is worsening in Pakistan with each passing day, he
observed.

"The crisis pose a serious danger to the very existence of
human life in Pakistan. According to the economic indicators, Pakistan is
confronted with inflation and shortage of essential commodities," he said.

Khan added that the crisis required immediate policy shifts including
introduction of safety nets and provision of subsidies. He said that Pakistan's
economy showed all major indicators of progress. Daily times